10 Ways to Make Flashcards More Fun

I can’t say I am a huge fan of flashcards – and neither is Baloo.  In fact, I’m pretty sure he intensely dislikes them.  But our new All About Reading program uses them as a daily review tool and I know he needs to review.  And you can bet I am not going to deal with the moaning and groaning every single day!

So I’m trying some simple tactics to get him excited about the flashcards.  I thought I’d have to go all out and do some crazy things, but these simple games are really making the experience much more enjoyable.  We basically just turn it into a game!

1. Left or Right? split the stack of flashcards into two and hold one stack in each hand.  Have your child pick left or right and show him the appropriate card which they then read to you.

2. Pick a card (any card!) Like a good magic trick, spread out the cards in a fan and let your child choose one and read it…then choose another and read it, etc until there is one left which is the winner! 

3. Hide and Seek. Hide the cards and then go on a hunt for them reading or identifying what is on the card as you go.

4. Memory Make 2 of each card and play a game of memory.

5. Find the Rhyming Card.  If your cards have words on them, have them find 2 that rhyme

6. I’m searching for… spread all the cards out and have your child search for a certain card giving them clues like “I’m searching for a word that starts with s”. 

7. Sorting Sort the cards into like piles.  Words that start with a certain letter, objects that are the same color, words that have a certain amount of letters, etc!

8. Switch Places Have your child hold the cards and you identify them!  Try to get some wrong so your child knows to check your answer and correct you.

9. The Wild Card Choose one card to be the Wild Card.  As you’re going through tell your child to keep an eye out for the Wild Card.  Have something that will happen when you find the Wild Card. 
This is easy for us with the All About Reading program because there are a few ‘rule breaker’ cards.  All we do is yell out RULE BREAKER! in a silly voice.  The anticipation of finding that one card keeps the game going!

10. Duck, Duck, Goose!  Put the cards out in a big circle and walk around them saying “duck, duck, duck, GOOSE!”  Have your child run around the circle and then sit on that card and read it!!  You could also switch this up to musical chairs or Ring Around the Rosy. 

Just some simple changes can make flash cards much more fun and better tools for learning!  Baloo is easy to entertain with silly things, so if I just drop the card over and over he will start laughing and enjoy himself that much more!

If you have more ideas for flashcard fun, let me know in the comments!